Telephone-call register.



W. H. BARKER. TELEPHONE CALLI REGISTER.

(Application led Aug. 10, 1898;)

No. 664,346. Patented nec. I6, |900..

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES- PATENT' OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. BARKER, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE GRAY TELEPHONE PAY STATION COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

TELEPHONE-CALL REGISTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Lettere Patent No. 664,346, dated December 18. 1900- Application tiled August l0, 1898. Serial No. 688,233. (No model.)

T0 il whom. 2S may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM I-I. BARKER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telephone- Call Registers, of which the followingis a full, clear, and exact description, whereby any one skilled in the art can make and use the same.

My invention relates to the class of devices used for registering the fact that the instrument has been used and also for indicating the fact that the use to be made of the instrument has been duly registered.

To this end my invention consists in the device as a Whole, in the combination of parts, and in details and their combination, as hereinafter described, and'more particularly set forth in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is a View in front elevation of a set of telephone instruments with my improved register connected therewith. Fig. 2 is a detail view, on an enlarged scale, showing the mechanism for operating the register, the casing being shown in dotted outline. Fig. 3 is a detail View, in lengthwise section, through the casing, showing the register-operating mechanism. Fig. 4 is a detail front view of the casing on a reduced scale from that shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the easing with parts cut away to show construction on the scale of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a detail view in section through the bolt-operating mechanism on the scale of Fig. 2. Fig. '7 is a View in detail of the cam, pawl, and star wheels on the scale of Fig. 2.

My improved device is distinguished from those of the prior art in that the use of a coin or token is not required as a medium in registering or denoting the fact that the telephone has been used, improved means being employed whereby a single instrument is used for registering each call and also for notifying the central office that the use to be made of the telephone has been duly registered.

In the accompanying drawings, the lettera denotes a backboard, b a battery-box, c the coil-box, d a magneto-bell, e the telephone, and f the transmitter, of a set of telephone instruments arranged in the usual manner common to devices of this class.

The letter g denotes the base of the callregister, and it has an offset portion g, adapted to lie in contact with the surface of that part of the instrument supporting the transmitter. In the form shown this flange is arranged to overlie a flange on the coil-box c, slots being formed in the flange for the reception of screws to insure the contact of the surface of the dange with the Iiange of the coil-box. I do not desire to limit myself, however, to this form of construction, as any means for connecting that part of the register bearing the alarm with the transmitter or its support will come within the scope of the invention.

A casing h is secured to the base in any convenient manner.. In the form shown lugs h', engaging recesses in the base, and screws h2 are used for holding the base against removal. In order to prevent unauthorized removal of the case, the recess for the head of one of the screws is counterbored, this recess being filled by a material, as wax, on which a seal may be placed. This provides means whereby the screw,and consequently the case, cannot be removed without the fact being known.

A register t' is secured to the casing h, this register being of any well-known form, preferably of the repeating kind. A plunger 7s is mounted in a cylinder Z, secured to the casing h, a spring Z being used to hold the plunger at one limit of its play. A hammer lo' is secured to the plunger in position to strike the gong m, secured to the base g. This gong is mounted on a lug g2, integral with the base, and an insulating material fn. is interposed be tween the casing h and the base to insulate the latter from any vibration due to the operation of the registering devices. A bearing gs extends outward from the base, and on a reduced part of this bearing are mounted a starwheel o, a ratchet p, and a cam-wheel q. These three parts are secured in a manner to have simultaneous rotation. A barrel r is mounted in the casing h, this barrel being of the well-known form common to locks of the class illustrated and provided with the usual IOO tumblers to register with notches in a key s. The inner end of the key engages a slot q in the cam-Wheel q. In the preferred form of the device the slots 1" and q' in the barrel r and cam-wheel q, respectively, extend in two directions, so that a key may be inserted in the barrel in a number of positions. A paWl t is secured to the casing 7L and engages teeth on a ratchet p to prevent movement of the ratchet in the Wrong direction, and a stop fu., also secured to the casing, engages the star- Wheel o in a manner to prevent excessive turning movement of the parts. In the form of device shown the pawl t and stop u are formed of each of the arms of a single piece of metal bent to approximately U shape.

In the operation of the device the key s is inserted in the barrel o', with its inner end engaging the recess in the cam-Wheel q. A quarter-turn in the device illustrated is given to the key, the stop u preventing excessive movement of the key. In this movement of the key the cam-Wheel q is rotated, pushing` the plunger 7c upward and moving the register forward one point. As soon as one of the points on the cam-Wheel has passed underneath the plunger the latter is forced backward by the spring l', causing the hammer It" to strike the gong m, the sound of which is transmitted through the base g to the support of the transmitter f, and thence over the wire to the central office.

It is obvious that the principles underlying this construction may be variously modified to secure the same results or arranged to indicate the use of the device for different devices, as local, long distance, dw., and I do notdesire to limit myself to the precise means herein shown and described, as any means including the use of a key for operating a register or like device for denoting the use of the instrument and also for notifying the centraloffice that the register has been operated will come Within the scope of my invention.

I claim as my inventionl. In combination with the transmitting part of a telephone toll apparatus, a register, a reciprocating plunger adapted to operate the register, a cam for moving the plunger to one limit of its play, key-operated mechanism for moving the cam, and means for insuring a proper movement of the cam after' it has been partially rotated.

2. In combination with the transmitting part of a telephone toll apparatus, a register, a reciprocating plunger adapted to operate the register, a cam for moving the plunger to one limit of its play, a spring for returning said plunger and sounding an alarm after the register has been operated, and means for preventing an improper movement of the plunger-operating cam.

3. In combination with the transmitting part of a telephone toll apparatus, aregister, an alarm, a reciprocating plunger adapted to operate the register and sound the alarm, and key operated means including a cam for moving the plunger, and means including a ratchet-Wheel and Star-Wheel operatively connected with the cam, and adapted to prevent an improper movement of the operating parts.

it. In combinationin a telephone toll-regis tering apparatus, a register, an alarm, register-operating mechanism including a rotary member adapted to operate the register and sound the alarm, means for producing an intermittent step-by-step rotation of the rotary member, and means for holding the rotary member with a yielding grasp against rotation after each step of its movement.

5. In combination with the transmitting part of a telephone apparatus, a register, a plunger operatively connectedwith the register, key-operated mechanism including a rotary member, a star-Wheel secured to the rotary member, and a spring overlying and in contact with a plural number of points of the star-Wheel.

6. In combination with the transmitting part of a telephone apparatus, a register, a plunger foroperating the register, key-operated mechanism including a rotary barrel, a cam supported on the barrel and adapted to operate the plunger, a ratchet-wheel adapted to rotate With the barrel, and a spring-pawl one arm of which engages the ratchet-Wheel and the other arm of Which engages the star- Wheel.

WILLIAM H. BARKER.

INitnesses:

ARTHUR B. JENKINS, ERMA P. COFFIN. 

